Team Storm...

Evan and Brynn both played t-ball this summer; their last game was actually a week ago but I am a little behind with the continued craziness of summer. They both played for Storm. It was a great season and amazingly, two innings of t-ball often did not seem enough, for the players or for me! Each game, and the season, went so fast!

This was Evan's second year playing t-ball. He was excited for every game but especially looked forward to the game against the Red Wings, his team from last year, even though we told him the teams do not have the same players year to year and that his previous coach was actually the coach of a completely different team. Evan will tell you we won every game, even though everybody bats and nobody ever gets out. He also headed to each game claiming he was going to hit the ball out of the ball park. That didn't happen but it would be hard to find someone who has seen Evan play ball who would not think that he has many home-runs in his future. He plays with intensity ~ he does with most sports but baseball gets just a smidge more.

This was Brynn's first season as we did not think she was really ready last year. This year she was ready! She LOVED it! T-ball is really the first thing I have seen her consistently excited about. She loved to hit (with her pink bat of course), she loved fielding the ball, she loved wearing her hat, and she loved yelling at me from all places on the field to remind me to watch or to ask how I liked her previous play. She, of course, also loved the snacks at the end of the game.

Our organized sports are done for a few weeks, then we move on to soccer, flag football, and cheerleading (maybe), gymnastics, & dance.

Rain Dancing...

Yesterday our trip to the pool was cut short by an earlier-than-predicted rain storm.

I think it is funny that the kids actually did very little swimming at the pool but didn't mind the rainy ride home in the golf-cart or jumping around in the rain outside.

After a couple minutes Price realized something.

I think the exact quote was "I am going to do a rain dance even though it is raining because the more it rains the more video games we get to play." Sad, but typically true. Gotta keep my sanity you know.

Nyah wasn't sure if she wanted to participate ~ I think she was tempted by the fun of it but didn't want more rain since being home meant nap time for her.

And Evan, well, he still does not like rain. He wasn't happy standing in the garage watching. He wanted everyone to come inside.

The rain want away and we returned to the pool ~ after a nap and the typical daily allotment of video games.

Two-Word Wednesday (and a number & a noise)

Only 1/2 done. {Sigh}

Cutest ears I've ever seen...

Tonight I needed to make a quick trip to the mall to buy a specific t-shirt for Nyah and Brynn decided to tag along. I go to the mall maybe four times a year but since the last time I went (Christmas maybe?) I asked Brynn if she wanted to get her ears pierced (she said no), "ears" must be what Brynn thinks of when I mention the mall. As we walked in tonight she told me she wanted to get her ears pierced and well, here she is now that we are home...

She was pretty determined to get them done... even when the "piercer" recommended we come back another day when there were two people there so both ears could be done at the same time. I considered putting it off but since Brynn is the bravest of my children when it comes to shots, I decided to let her go ahead. I then filled out about as much paperwork as I did during the girls' adoptions and I prayed that we wouldn't have to leave with just one earring in. She climbed on my lap but was very nervous and almost chickened out at the last second. She cried quietly after the first ear but didn't put up too much resistance when it was time to do the second. Her tears stopped about 2 minutes after it was all over, once I took her over to the temporary tattoo shelf to pick out some to bring home. The sucker she got afterwards helped too.

She picked the pink daisy earrings. Not the clearest picture in the world... I wanted to get this all up before I forgot the details so it was after 10pm and Brynn was so giddy she wouldn't be still. Of course she now has to wear them for at least 8 weeks so there will be plenty of other pictures between now and then of her cute first pair...

Brynn told me afterwards that she would not ever get her ears pierced again (I have two holes in each ear and the girl who pierced her ears had MANY, along with a few nose piercings) so that is one thing I can cross off the "What will she do/want to do as a teenager?" list 'cause I am certain that she will not change her mind later... :)

Four Word Wednesday...

Pouty but still adorable!

Back from the beach...

We returned yesterday from our annual trip to VA Beach. It was crazy and chaotic but we had great weather (it was actually on the cool side) and our hotel was nice (though even a two-room suite get a little crowded with all of us and our stuff).

Caleb, Price, and Brynn love the beach. LOVE IT. We did very little else on our beach trip except hang out at the beach. All three love being both in the water and digging in the sand out of the water.

Evan did not like the sand. He isn't fond of the ocean either. He begged to go to the pool though the water in the one pool was really cold and the indoor pool had so many chemicals in it that your eyes burned seconds after entering the room. Here is Evan writing his t-ball team's name in the sand. Evan is all sports, specifically sports involving a ball, all the time.

Nyah liked the beach but not the water so much. While she is pictured here with the broken shovel, believe it or not, Nyah-nator wasn't the one who broke it... this time.

She did have a few moments of braveness, but after being knocked off her feet once...

she preferred dry land.

She still wanted water in her bucket though so she would pester anyone around to go fill her bucket. At times, perhaps when her servants were not moving fast enough, she would lay her bucket down on its side at the edge of the beach, open side facing out, walk back to the "safe" sand, and wait for the waves of water to fill her bucket up for her. Of course the bucket filled up but then it emptied as soon as the water pulled back (though somehow her bucket never got swept away). With the wave gone, she would run for her bucket, sure it was full of water... only to get angry when it was empty. She tried this a few times. She was furious each time. We thought it was hysterical.

Overall, the kids kept very busy, even when the waves were just way too rough for 2 of the 4 days.

By dinner time each night we were all exhausted. Nyah actually fell asleep one night while shoving spaghetti noodles into her mouth. No pictures of that... I was too tired to get out the camera too worried about her safety. We did get to sleep in more than usual each morning since the kids were so worn out so that was nice.

Going to the beach with five children was pure madness but for a couple hours, while the rest were at the pool, Caleb and I were able to sneak off to the surfer area of the beach. There were not many successful surfers but it was a less crowded area with a view of the inlet. I also got a few pictures of our beach view from the hotel.

The moon over the water was beautiful. I'll have to read up on how to really photograph the moon...

but that moon was a great source of cheap entertainment one night. "Moon pictures" we called them... just set the shutter speed to a slow speed on the camera and move the camera around. The craziest one (bottom right) below was Evan's; one of kids did the other crazy one but I can't remember who did it.

Oh, look, I do have proof I was at the beach... I am in exactly ONE photo and here it is...

So now our "vacations" are over and there are four weeks left before school starts. Let the calm part of summer begin... yeah, right!

Three Words and an Acronym Wednesday...

Wacky Day at VBS...

Our Week in Review...

Now this past week was truly what a summer week should be... a lot of chaos, pool time, friends and family, and celebrations!

The kids had VBS last week in the mornings and loved it. Then each boy had a friend sleep over one night... not all the same night though! They went to ballgames, went tubing, and played video games until I would think their fingers would bleed but no blood was shed.

Then on Friday it was fireworks time in our town so we spent the evening at the pool with quite a few neighborhood families and close friends. Lots of delicious food and fun... exactly how a summer celebration should be!

At 10pm the fireworks began so we all headed to the driving range to watch... the trees have gotten a little taller but we could still see most of them. Most of us watched the fireworks. A few of the kids played hide-and-seek (more on this at the end) and while there are not many places to hide on a golf course, it was pitch black so really objects weren't needed to hide behind.

Earlier this year my brother and sister-in-law recommended we purchase these headlamps (on sale for a good price ~ $19 for 5, no shipping fees! ~ still can get them for that!) and I remembered at the last minute that I had them.

They were a big hit (Thanks Ron & Stacey though I wasn't thanking you much today when Brynn wore hers, along with her pink Super Girl cape, to the grocery store).

See how useful one was when Brynn's friend Eli wanted to give her a bracelet as they shared a towel and snacks watching the fireworks? Ah, young love. This is cute now at age 5... in 10 years this may not be! :)

On the actual 4th of July we headed to my parents for a cook-out and some backyard baseball and a few small fireworks. Here are the girls enjoying the sparklers... the boys were not really into the sparkler thing but the girls liked them. Nyah would hold one, give it back, and then want it back.

Funniest moment of the holiday weekend was when we got back from the fireworks and realized Evan's feet looked like this...

He was one of the boys playing hide-and-seek on the golf course and after the discovery I had nightmares of green footprints all over the course/cart paths and that we would be fussed at. I also feared it might be lead-loaded paint. In the morning we noticed Price's feet were the same way and a few emails later found out that all the hide-and-seekers were sporting hulk-colored feet and, in some cases, legs. Turns out to be fertilizer so I am now expecting a growth spurt in the next few weeks (I'm trying to bury the thought of all the chemicals that might be in their bodies).

Another big adventure this week... stay tuned!

Happy 4th of July!

God Bless America!

Wordless Wednesday